It’s Hot Outside And I Want Ice Cream And Iced Coffee

by Emily

Here’s a looong post because it’s been a looong time since I last posted! 20 things from the past 10 days…

{1-4} Cool Coffees. New Orleans iced coffees from Homecoming and Otha’s.

Toasted marshmallow iced latte from Sweetie Pies on Main.

Homemade frappe with dark roast, milk, ice, and birthday cake ice cream (<– I enjoyed the Halo Top a surprising amount, and would definitely buy it again).

{5-6} Decadent Doughnuts. Nutella beignet from Maman.

Rose and marmalade doughnut from Polka Dot. <– one of the best doughnuts either of us had ever eaten

{7-10} Work Bites. Piñata apple, salted caramel Doubleshot, and an ancho pepper turkey stick.

Almond water (<– yuck!), chocolate hazelnut croissant, and a smitten apple.

Vanilla bean yogurt with white peach and crumbled cookies (<– the recipe I always make with butterscotch and dark chocolate chips and walnuts).

TJ’s avocado citrus yogurt with fresh mango and a peanut butter Larabar on the side.

{11-12} Lunch in Greenpoint. Greenpoint Fish and Lobster.

Watermelon lemonade with cava.

Grilled bluefish tacos with citrus cabbage, chipotle-lime mayo, radishes, and cilantro on grilled corn tortillas.

Greenpoint Beer and Ale. I got the honey saison.

{13} Quality Eats at Quality Eats. French toast cocktail (<– extra points for the punny name!) = bourbon, maple syrup, cinnamon, egg white, and prosecco.

I had fried eggs with avocado and salsa rosa, and a perfectly dressed salad.

And we had the s’mores ice cream sundae for dessert, with burnt marshmallow ice cream.

{14-17} Winner Dinners. Kimichi quesadillas. I stuffed wonderfully soft tortillas with a mix of sharp cheddar, chopped kimchi, and mayo.

Served with sour cream, roasted zucchini, and a weisse beer with lychee and pink guava.

Bean and cheese tacos. With watermelon beer and seltzer. I cooked pinto beans in a skillet with evoo, salt, pepper, curry powder, and cayenne, then mashed them up with a spoon.

With sour cream, salsa, Mexican cheese blend, and sautéed onions and green pepper.

Chicken wing pasta. Whole wheat shells / shredded chicken / peas / habanero wing sauce / cream cheese / blue cheese.

Our first trip to Win Son = the best meal of this post.

I got the Breakfast of Champions drink with peanut milk, toasted sesame, rum, rum cream, and toasted coconut.

Fried eggplant with black vinegar, kefir cheese, and spiced cashews. <– maybe my favorite thing I’ve eaten this year

Sesame noodles with scallions and oyster mushrooms. Plus a metric ton of chili oil.

{18-20} Delicious Desserts. Molly’s Cupcake for raw cake batter stuffed yellow cake.

Bubble tea at Yaya Tea. Guava black tea with yogurt popping boba and mango stars. <– new favorite boba spot

Ice and Vice seasonal flavor, No Whey – labne ice cream with burnt honey and preserved lemon. This was so refreshing!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

9Jun2017

Food and Fun in Philly

by Emily

Adam had to take a quick trip to Philadelphia this week (less than 24 hours!) and I was able to work out my schedule to go with him. It was a short but fun visit.

Best bites of Brotherly Love…

Rooster Soup Co. We went for the smoked matzo ball soup, which was sadly only ok.

But I also had a fantastic salad with carrots, green beans, jicama, peanuts, currants, cilantro, and harissa-lime dressing; so good.

Dessert at Scoop Deville. We split an underbaked cookie dough(!) sundae with cookies and cream ice cream, hot fudge, and marshmallow sauce.

It was rainy and gross for a bit in the morning, so I took advantage of the cable tv and got doughnuts and coffee to eat in bed!!

Federal Donuts are the best donuts I’ve ever eaten. I got cookies and cream and burnt caramel and they were both so well seasoned and balanced. I usually don’t even love cake donuts but my mouth is watering just thinking about them.

We also spent some time in Chinatown buying exciting candy. And of course made a trip to Reading Terminal Market. Old City Coffee is one of my must-do stops in Philly.

I got a nonfat latte with an extra shot of espresso and a shot of local maple syrup.

You have to get a cheesesteak. I went vegetarian with seitan. With hot and sweet peppers and provolone.

Highlights from the work week…

Starbucks Cuban coffee doubleshot.

Starbucks chicken and artichoke sandwich.

Coffee + chicory yogurt bowl with Heritage Flakes, chia seeds, and chocolate-covered cocoa nibs. Plus a lemonade apple and more La Colombe.

After months of obsessive searching, I finally found the new cookie crunch Reese’s Cups in Philly. <– love!

It’s the weekend (almost)!

5Jun2017

Japanese Kit-Kats And Trader Joe’s Nitro Cold Brew

by Emily

Highlights from the week included…

Trader Joe’s nitrogen-infused cold brew, my new favorite bottled coffee. It was so creamy and velvety!

Check out that head (photo taken after I added cream).

Yogurt bowls at work. Plain Siggi’s with maple quinoa granola, chia seeds, brown sugar, and homemade raisins. <– if I had included three favorites in my title this bowl would have been #3! P.S. the raisins were much improved by a night in the fridge.

Banana Chobani with Heritage Flakes and a piñata apple on the side.

Snack attack. There were curly fries in the cafeteria this week!

I finally got my hands on some crazy-flavors Japanese Kit-Kats – butter cookie and pudding. I would have liked both better with milk chocolate versus white but they were fun to try.

Iced chai latte (that was way too spicy for me and ended up going in the garbage) and yummy honey caramel candies.

I made a big batch of pesto and it was the cornerstone of most of our adult dinners last week. Failed adulting dinners were cheese and crackers eaten in bed. Pesto = basil, garlic, salt, olive oil, pine nuts, and parmesan. Most of it went into pasta bowls – whole wheat shells with shredded chicken and roasted zucchini, topped with more cheese and pine nuts and fried garlic panko bread crumbs for crunch.

I also set aside some pesto for some truly epic egg sandwiches.

Brioche bun / with pesto on one side / and gojuchang mayo on the other / with two fried eggs with a slice of fontina cheese melting in between. <– ridiculously good and loosely inspired by the egg sandwich at Santina.

With roasted green beans with more garlic panko.

Saturday after work I met Adam for Southern fare at Pretty Southern. We ordered both sherry drinks because cocktails with sherry are wonderful. Carlita’s Colada – Palo cortado sherry, coconut cream, pineapple, and lime and Sunshine Way – Fino sherry, blackberry, pineapple, lime, and mint. The coconut one was the best.

We shared all of the things for dinner. Chicken strips with the most amazing housemade pickles.

Bourbon butter biscuit. <– this was soggy and meh

Fantastic mac and cheese with crispy fried onions on top.

And a griddled sandwich with pimento cheese, tomato, and pickled jalapeño.

I’ve got a busy but fun week ahead, please think calm thoughts for me!

30May2017

Llamas, And Pigs, and Humans, Oh My!

by Emily

Three-day weekend highlights, including lots of new “bests”…

Unicorn smoothie! The layers were acai and pitaya with coconut water and plain Greek yogurt.

Bananarama smoothie. Frozen banana, plain Greek yogurt, a hot chocolate packet, and Banana Wave Banana Milk. <– free product review alert: the banana milk is a vegan milk made of banana puree, soy, oats, and other ingredients. One serving contains as much potassium as a small banana as well as 29 vitamins and minerals and 1200 mg of omega-3 fatty acids. One cup has 150 calories, 4 grams of protein, and 5 grams of added sugar.

Black bear, aka Otha‘s coffee concentrate with housemade chocolate milk. This shop was adorable and we want to go back immediately.

Du’s Donuts. Adam’s all time favorites.

Lunch at Llama Inn.

I had soft-boiled eggs with delicata squash, charred scallions, pumpkin seeds, and chimichurri sauce.

We got our own desserts, flan for Adam and key lime pie for me. Best key lime pie of the decade, it was enrobed in toasted meringue!

Lunch at Pig Bleeker. We had a Salty Spritz – vodka, St. Germain, and apricot, with a salty white wine rinse, and a Champagne Sherry Cobbler that was the all-time best drink we’ve ever had – Fino sherry, fresh citrus, and champagne.

I got a fried chicken thigh sandwich with Pig Beach mustard sauce, house pickles, mayo, and hot sauce. The meat was smoked before it was fried and it was by far the best fried chicken I’ve ever tasted.

Durian mochi.

Malter Chronkite from Mister Dips, a malty chocolate-dipped cone.

Spicy crunchy tuna sushi bowl. Brown rice with ginger, rice vinegar, seaweed, and black sesame seeds / canned tuna fish and smoked trout with Sriracha and mayo / quick pickled cucumbers / fresh avocado / panko and fried garlic toasted in butter / Sriracha on top.

Chopped romaine salad with honey mustard dressing, dill, sautéed mushrooms with garlic, shredded chicken, crumbled blue cheese, and homemade raisins.

I am on Saturday/Sunday so I’ve only got two days of work before a day off, woo-hoo!

27May2017

Bluefish Hash at Tygershark

by Emily

This week’s top five –

(1) Brunch at Tygershark.

I got the smoked bluefish hash (best meal of the week!) with fried potato, salsa verde, napa cabbage, shishito pepper, and an over easy egg.

(2) Doughnuts and coffee at Du’s Donuts.

They were Adam’s all time favorites!

(3) New yummy candies.

Maltesers // Milk & Cookies bar.

(4) Dinner and drinks at Atlantic Social.

I went with a girlfriend who was equally obsessed with Pork Slope. This wasn’t half as good (obviously!), but I did have a tasty bowl of chicken pot pie ramen.

(5) New favorite sparkling water.

It’s so good! We’ve tried pink grapefruit and strawberry-guava and loved them both, but do NOT like the raspberry lemonade.

Stuff from the week that wasn’t terrible but didn’t quite rate a number –

Brooklyn is the best –

19May2017

Duck Confit

by Emily

Top 10 bites this week…

Pastries and coffees at Lilia. An espresso-cream filled doughnut and something that tasted like a fancy funnel cake.

Egg and cheese on a whole-wheat roll. With an iced latte and a tangerine.

Candy oats bowl. Rolled oats with chia seeds, mini chocolate chips, and a few caramel M&M’s. (<– they are so good! Adam and I are both obsessed and we mailed a bag to my parents who flipped over them as well.)

Nectarine yogurt and red cherries. So excited that it’s cherry season.

Cafeteria came through with a fancy pasta bar. Tortelini with peas, pesto, and shrimp.

Best meal of the week was a midweek lunch date at Sauvage. The service was impeccable and the space was beautiful.

I love a good tiled floor!

We started with the seeded Kouign Amann which was buttery good. Plus an unpictured cocktail that was fizzy and citrusy but that I’m not finding on the online menu.

Adam ordered mind-blowingly good hen of the woods mushrooms with poached eggs. I just got a salad — with oranges, za’atar, and duck confit!! <– 2nd best duck I’ve ever eaten

It is disgustingly warm in NYC and I had ice cream in some form every day this week. Best = Van Leeuwen‘s honeycomb and black sesame and ash flavors.

Yummy cola flavored hard candies. Cola is our favorite candy flavor, hard, gummy, sour, or otherwise.

Trader Joe’s frozen lemongrass chicken sticks with a side of baby carrots.

2nd best meal of the week was this homemade masterpiece. I know that chicken looks awful and raw but it was actually perfectly cooked. I baked chicken thighs that marinated in miso, brown sugar, rice vinegar, ginger, and fish sauce all morning.

Paired with roasted broccoli and kimchi and turkey bacon fried rice.

Enjoy your weekend!

15May2017

Salmon Cream Cheese Wontons

by Emily

I had to work this weekend but somehow I ended up with a bunch of eats that were super good. Because they all included sugar and/or cheese? Probably! Here were the highlights…

Three fun new coffee cups. Halvah cotton candy on top.

Chocolate milk ice cubes.

Starbuck’s nitro cold brew. I loved the velvety texture but was not a fan of it being served without ice.

Pickings are slim at the cafeteria on the weekends but I put together a pretty good lunch plate. BBQ wings, veggie lo mein, roasted baby carrots, and cherry tomatoes with blue cheese dressing.

Mango yogurt with fresh mango on top. Guys, fresh mangos are so flipping good, how did I forget about them all winter??

Cookie and coffee break. From Bittersweet (a hopping Fort Greene coffee spot with no less than 7 cute doggies waiting in line when I walked in).

Another sweet snack, vanilla yogurt with chocolate peanut butter stirred in and mini chocolate chips on top.

Cinnamon dusted apple slices with sharp cheddar squares and chocolate peanut butter sticks.

Whole Foods hot bar dinner on an after-work shopping trip. Crispy potatoes, vegan meat balls, roasted zucchini, tabbouleh, and pasta salad.

Best meal of the week was this quick and easy dinner I threw together Friday night.

Salmon cream cheese wontons! I stuffed wonton skins with a mix of canned salmon, cream cheese, brown sugar, fish sauce, and minced ginger. Baked at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.

They were creamy and crispy and delicious. Served with roasted green beans.

A close 2nd for best meal was our dinner at Lady’s, a newish Italian spot in Brooklyn.

The food was all fantastic – so fresh, and perfectly seasoned. Like this amazing salad with snow peas, sunflower seeds, and pickled radish. <– 2nd best salad of my entire life

We also started with hummus with crispy chickpeas, charred cucumber, lemon, and focaccia.

With a yummy local watermelon ale.

And for our entrée we shared pasta with crab,

and honey butter pizza dough with sea salt and Calabrian chili. The spicy-salty-sweet contrast was perfection. I had a glass of prosecco with that course and the pairing was wonderful.

I got a giant scoop of the new cheesecake flavor at Ample Hills for dessert. It was a tasty weekend!

Eating Chalk

Author Archives: Emily

It’s Hot Outside And I Want Ice Cream And Iced Coffee

Food and Fun in Philly

Japanese Kit-Kats And Trader Joe’s Nitro Cold Brew

Llamas, And Pigs, and Humans, Oh My!

Bluefish Hash at Tygershark

Duck Confit

Salmon Cream Cheese Wontons